Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump
by Allison Carroll
Summary: Nothing could have prepared 15-year-old Harry Potter for an usual visit from his children. Yet, this quickly became the least of his worries as he now played the role of Dad, teaching his future kids to ride a broom and reading silly wizarding stories...
1. Chapter 1

Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump

_Chapter 1_

**A/N:** This story was written for the Twin Travel Challenge on SIYE. The prompt was Harry and Ginny's uncanon twins, Lily and James, managed to appear from the future and our objective is to identify the children based on the description given, explain how the children got where they are, and remedy the problem. This story will have at least 3-4 chapters. Enjoy!

* * *

"So when Snape turned around, BAM!" Fred exclaimed, pounding his fist on the table. The rest of the people around the table erupted in laughter, all except Mrs. Weasley who narrowed her eyes at the twin boys.

As was typical of a Sunday evening, the Weasley family along with Harry and Hermione gathered around the table for dinner. With their dinner plates now cleared away, the group chose to pass their time reliving their time at Hogwarts. It was only a couple weeks before school would begin and Fred and George were recalling some joke products gone wrong the previous year. However, none of this seemed to amuse a frowning Mrs. Weasley. It was apparent that she did not approve of their aspirations.

When the laughter died, George sat back in his chair with a sigh. "Shame it didn't crack his skull," he muttered.

"George!" Mrs. Weasley snapped.

"Come on, Mum, even you think he's—"

"Professor Snape is your teacher!"

"He _was _our teacher, but_—_"

BANG!

The loud sound caused everyone at the table jumped in their seats and sent a wave panic down everyone's spines. The same thought raced through each mind causing them to freeze in their chairs except for the adults who silently pulled out their wands. Hermione shot a worried look at Harry. "Hide!" she mouthed to him, but Harry only shook his head. He understood her concern, but he wasn't going to back down from a fight. If Death Eaters had penetrated through the wards around the Burrow, they were coming for him, not anyone else. Getting to his feet, Harry along with Mr. Weasley, Charlie, and Bill crept into the living room where the noise had come from.

"_What did you do?_" someone shrieked.

"It was an accident!" another voice answered.

Mr. Weasley and Bill stopped in the door way, their wand arms falling to their side. Charlie and Harry, who were attempting to get a glimpse over their shoulders, gaped at their potential threat. A boy and girl, appearing no older than seven-years-old, were facing each other, each looking quite frightened. The little girl's flaming red hair whipped from side to side as she spoke to the other boy who resembled Harry with his messy black hair and glasses. At the sight of the clan in the doorway, the girl's expression quickly changed to look pleadingly at Mr. Weasley. "Grandpa!" she cried. "James did it. I was just watching to see what would happen."

"Well, Lily told me to," the boy countered. "I didn't think it was working."

The girl shot the boy a sharp look when it was interrupted by Mrs. Weasley who shoved her way into view, pushing the four men aside. Yet one look at the pair of seven-year-olds and any strength that Mrs. Weasley had promptly diminished as her form collapsed on the ground. With Charlie and Harry's help, Mrs. Weasley was moved inside of the kitchen where Mr. Weasley attempted to revive his wife. Yet, when Harry turned back towards the living room it was to find the little boy at his waist grabbing a hold of his shirt.

"Dad! You've got to believe me!" the boy cried, his messy black hair shaking wildly. "Lily made me do it!"

"I did not! Mum!" the little girl shouted, running to Ginny who had just entered the room.

Harry could only stare in disbelief at the little boy still tugging at his clothes in front of him. Dad? Had he heard him right? But that wasn't possible. Harry had barely turned fifteen and his most romantic moment was drooling over Cho Chang at the Yule Ball the previous Christmas. Dad? Him? He glanced at Ron and Hermione who had just entered the living room. Had the situation not been so shocking, it might have been comical the way Ron's face paled and Hermione's figure froze in place.

"He's lying, Mummy!" the little girl called 'Lily' piped up pointing at James with an accusatory finger. "I told him not to, but he did it anyways!"

James returned the accusation with a glare. "My fault, is it? Well, if you hadn't pressed that button, the maybe it wouldn't have—"

"ENOUGH!" Bill finally shouted causing the twins to jump in fright. "Bloody hell…? Who are you?"

The twins exchanged bewildered looks. James let his smile falter for a moment as he turned to Harry. "It's me, Dad, James," the boy said slowly, his brown eyes staring up at Harry. "James Potter. Your son."

All eyes shot towards Harry who stood thunderstruck. None of this made sense. It was not physically possible for an individual to father a child when he was only seven or eight-years-old. What kind of joke was this?

"Mummy? Daddy?" Lily spoke with tears glistening in her green eyes. "Don't you remember us?"

On the other side of the room, Ginny was shaking her head looking just as dumbfounded as everyone else. It made Harry feel relieved that she had no more idea about what was going than he did. This just couldn't be possible, he thought. Yet, here they were, two seven-year-olds standing before them looking extraordinary like Harry and Ginny. Except for their eyes.

It was Hermione who finally kneeled down at the children's level and spoke gently to them. "How exactly did you two get here?" she asked.

James gave Lily a nervous glance. "It was her fault, really…"

"What?" his sister cried. "It was your idea to touch it, so how can it be my fault?"

"It was your idea to play in the living room!" James retorted.

Lily responded with a laugh and in that moment, Harry caught a brief glimpse of his mother. It was the same laugh that Lily Evans gave in her wedding picture the day she became 'Lily Potter'. That picture was in an album that Hagrid had given Harry at the end of his first year. Unless she was a reincarnation of Lily Evans, this Lily could be no one else but his own daughter. His and Ginny's daughter.

"Prove it!" Lily shot back at James as their argument escalated.

James looked ready to pounce on his sister when two hands shot out and grabbed both of them by the ears. Mrs. Weasley had regained consciousness and though her face was still chalk white, she managed to find the strength to take control of the situation. "That's enough bickering for one night," she muttered. "It's late. You children should be in bed. Arthur, could you get the extra blankets out of the upstairs closet?"

"But Molly, we still don't know how they got here," Mr. Weasley answered.

"It's midnight," Mrs. Weasley snapped back. "You can question them in the morning."

"Midnight?" James interrupted his grandmother. "It can't be midnight! We only just had lunch!"

"Lunch?" Ron echoed. "You're barmy!"

Hermione threw her arms in the air. "Oh honestly! Can't you see? They're not from here!"

"What are you getting at, Hermione?" Bill asked suspiciously.

The young witch bit her lip and examined the twins' faces. "I think…I think they're from the future."

The lame ending of the statement sounded ludicrous even to Hermione's own ears. Yet, there seemed to be some truth in her words even if she sounded barmy herself. How else could Harry and Ginny possibly have two children together?

"Fr-from the future?" Ron stuttered. "Is that possible?"

"It is," Bill answered after some time. "It would just take a time-turner or something equivalent."

James and Lily exchanged glances. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry watched James tuck something into his back pocket.

"I will send a letter to the Ministry," Mr. Weasley added. "This is in clear violation of the law concerning time travel."

Mrs. Weasley looked worriedly at her husband. "And what will happen?"

Her husband adjusted his glasses, avoiding his wife's gaze. "I can't say, but at least they will be sent back to their time period."

"At least?" Mrs. Weasley echoed. "And what is the most?"

"I would rather not say," Mr. Weasley responded.

"Arthur!"

"Molly, it's up to the Ministry—"

"Then don't inform the Ministry!" his wife returned stubbornly. "We'll—we'll figure it out."

Everyone in the room gawked at Mrs. Weasley. This must have been the first time in history that the Weasley matriarch had ever supported breaking the law. Mrs. Weasley turned away from her family and motioned the two children towards the stairs.

"No!" Lily whined. "Mummy and Daddy put us to bed!"

"Always," James added glancing over at Harry and Ginny.

Mrs. Weasley did not catch the insinuation, but stared baffled at the two. "But your parents aren't here," she began.

"Yes, they are!" James argued. "They're right there!"

With an arm pointed in his and Ginny's direction, the obvious became even more obvious. Harry wanted to melt on the spot and from the way it appeared, Ginny was trying to transfigure herself into the doorway. Yet, neither attempt prevented the two children from running to their "parents" again and begging for Harry and Ginny to take them to bed. After several minutes of their whining, Ginny finally threw her arms up and followed Lily and James up to the stairway.

"Are you coming, Dad?" James called over his shoulder.

"I—"

"Yes, you are," Ginny inserted sharply. "_Dad._"

The raven-haired boy frowned in response, but followed the other three up the stairs with Mrs. Weasley trailing behind them. "They can sleep in Percy's old room since…since he's not here," she said as they arrived on the second floor. When they reached the room, she conjured two cots for the children and, after some hesitation, left Harry and Ginny to do the rest.

"Aren't you going to tuck us in, Mum?" Lily asked as she lay down on a cot.

"Er…yes, of course," Ginny replied, kneeling next to them and tucking each child in. Once they were well tucked in, she got up quickly and was about to leave the room with Harry when James protested again.

"Daddy!" he shouted. "A story!"

"Er…" Harry began.

"James, dear, I think your _father_ is tired," Ginny interrupted, patting Harry on the shoulder. "Maybe he'll tell you a story tomorrow night."

The twins pouted quietly, but made no further attempt to prevent Harry and Ginny from leaving the room again. Once the light was out and the door was shut, the two "parents" exited and made a quick journey to Ron's room. Just as they predicted, Ron and Hermione were waiting eagerly for them.

"_Father?_" Harry repeated once the four were situated on the floor in Ron's room. "Honestly, Ginny, do you _really_ think it's possible?"

"Did I feel like arguing with a pair of seven-year-olds?" Ginny snapped back. "If it wasn't for me, you would still be down there telling those kids all about Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump!"

"What?" Harry and Hermione chorused, both with blank expressions.

Ron threw his arms up in the air. "Don't bother, Ginny," he told his sister before she could launch into an explanation of who Babbitty Rabbitty was. "They were raised as Muggles."

"I beg your pardon!" Hermione flushed.

"I only meant that you never heard those stories!" Ron defended himself.

Ginny rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at Ron. "Don't you think we have more pressing matters?" she broke in. "I don't know about you, but _I _don't think random children appearing in the living room is _normal_."

"They must have used time travel, obviously," Hermione mused, turning her attention back to Harry and Ginny. "But it's not possible for a time-turner to turn back _years_."

"Right," Ron added with a hint of sarcasm, "so they just decided to appear out of thin air for no reason."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "That's not possible, either, Ron," she argued. "Things just don't disappear and reappear on their own!"

"I don't think they did," Harry agreed with her. "They must have been playing with something."

"And how would they get a hold of something with that much…power to send them back in time?" Hermione returned. "I can imagine that you and Ginny were excellent parents, Harry, but leaving an object like that lying around is criminal! Your future selves could land a place in Azkaban!"

Harry gave a dry laugh. "Oh, is that all? That's only if I'm not _murdered_ first by Voldemort. If you can't remember, Voldemort is _back._"

"But Harry!" Hermione protested, her brown eyes suddenly lighting up. "If…if you have kids in the future…then…you definitely know what this means, don't you?"

"That Harry shagged my sister?" Ron interjected, casting a dark look in his best friend's direction.

Hermione swatted Ron on the arm. "Not that! Harry, you're going to survive!"

No words could describe the sudden relief that filled his heart and moved across his whole body. Could that really be true? Was he really destined to defeat Voldemort, marry Ginny, and have children with her? Was that really the way it was going to end? Was he going to have the family that he never had?

He glanced at Ginny who had an unreadable expression on her face. There was no indication of whether she was happy or upset with this new information, and for a moment, Harry slightly panicked. "Maybe they're wrong," Harry said after a moment. "Maybe…maybe that's not how it will be."

"How else can you explain this?" Hermione questioned.

"I don't know," he said, his green eyes still fixed on Ginny. "We'll…we'll have to ask them in the morning. I think it's time we turned in."

Hermione looked slightly disappointed, but chose not to argue as she followed Ginny out of the room. When the door was closed, he faced Ron who still appeared angry. "I know she's your sister, mate," he began, "but I swear I never thought that about her."

Ron bit his lip, but did not respond. The light was turned out and both boys lay silently on their respective beds. Maybe in time, Ron would be able to swallow the idea that his sister and best friend had joined in marriage. Hell, Ron didn't mind the idea now. His best friend shagging his sister and having two children? Well, that was going to take _years…_and yet time seemed to be the last thing Ron had at that moment.


	2. Chapter 2

Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump

_Chapter 2_

**A/N:** Second installment to the Twin Travel Challenge on SIYE. Enjoy!

* * *

Harry woke up with a headache the next morning. As the summer morning light flooded into the room, he hid his face in his pillow, attempting to stop the pain in his head. Had it been Voldemort? No, his scar felt as normal as ever. It must have been the strange dream he had been having before he woke up; something about his children appearing from the future and Ron threatening him for shagging his sister. Harry shook his head, thankful it was all a dream.

"All right, Harry?" Ron called over to him from his bed. "Blimey, I had the weirdest dream."

"Yeah?" Harry yawned. "Couldn't be any worse than mine."

"You, too?" Ron asked as he grabbed his trainers from the floor.

Harry nodded as he pulled a shirt over his head. Standing up, he stretches his arms and legs, allowing his sleepiness to slowly drain out of his body. The pounding in his head lessened, but it did not keep his stomach from grumbling loudly.

Ron smirked. "Hungry, eh?"

"A bit," Harry lied.

"Come on, then," Ron said while he opened his bedroom door and motioned Harry to follow. Down six flights of stairs, the two boys trudged, letting their feet stomp on each step along the way. When they reached the kitchen, Harry and Ron found Mrs. Weasley standing in the door way, hands on hips and looking quite peeved.

"Are you trying to wake up the house?" she interrogated Ron.

"Who's still sleeping?" he returned with a yawn. His answer quickly came in the form of Lily and James at the top of the stairs.

"Daddy?" the two children said groggily. "Did you make breakfast?"

Harry and Ron spun around, identical alarmed expressions on their faces. "It wasn't a dream, was it?" Harry whispered miserably.

Ron shook his head. "Nope."

Mrs. Weasley ignored her son's comment while she motioned the twins into the kitchen. "In here, dearies," she told them promptly, but then added to Harry, "Sirius is waiting for you."

At this last remark, Harry and Ron could not get into the kitchen any faster. Sirius was occupying a chair at the end of the table and looked up from the Daily Prophet when boys entered. "Harry!" he beamed.

"Sirius!" Harry cried, both in excitement and alarm. "What are you doing here?"

The older man stood up to embrace Harry, giving the teenage boy a smile. "Can I not see my godson?" he asked.

"But what if someone sees you?" Harry contested. "What if--?"

Sirius simply waved his hand at the comments. "Arthur secured the fireplace—just for this morning, mind you," he explained, then after some hesitation, added, "I have been told that you have company."

Harry didn't answer straight away, but looked awkwardly down at his trainers. He still didn't know what to think, let alone how to answer. As if on cue, the two seven-year-olds appeared at Harry's side, each in awe of the stranger before them.

"Sirius Black?" James finally blurted out, unable to contain his excitement. "You're the wizard Daddy always talked about?"

"He can't be, James!" Lily hissed. "You know he can't be!"

"Yes, he can! We're in the past, remember?" James countered stubbornly.

"_But he's dead!"_

Silverware clattered against plates while eggs dropped from Ron's stunned mouth. A pot from the stove next to Mrs. Weasley crashed onto the ground, its contents being strewn across the kitchen floor. James turned wide eyes towards his sister while Harry could only stare, the expression on his face shouting denial. How could this be true? Sirius was Harry's godfather, a man who managed to break out of Azkaban and not only lived to tell the tale, but has managed to evade capture for two years. He looked more alive now than ever…and yet, what did Lily mean, 'He's dead?'

When Harry tore his eyes off his future children, he found Sirius looking away, deep in thought. His face was not screaming in denial, but contemplating the words. Did he believe them? The awkward silence in the room was broken by the thundering footsteps of people walking down the stairs. Moments later, Fred and George entered the room.

"What a night!" Fred exclaimed, stretching his arms above his head.

Mrs. Weasley's eyes narrowed as she surveyed her twin boys. "And where were _you _last night?"

"Around," George answered vaguely.

"Around?" Mrs. Weasley repeated suspiciously.

"We are _of age_, Mum," Fred added with annoyance. "We're allowed to—"

Harry never heard the rest of what Fred and George were allowed to do. When Mrs. Weasley's pursed her lips and her nose flared, Harry felt a pair of hands shoving him out the backdoor. "Anyone up for Quidditch?" Ron muttered as he steered Harry out into the backyard.

"Oh, me!" James and Lily responded, having followed the two outside.

Ron and Harry spun around on the spot. "You can ride a broom?" Ron asked in amazement.

"Of course we can," Lily chimed in matter-of-factly.

"We've been riding broom since before we could walk," James added proudly.

"Er, alright," said Harry, not knowing what else to say.

Ron, on the other hand, was ecstatic. "You can ride Bill and Charlie's old broom," he told them as they headed to the broom shed. "No one uses those anymore—they're ancient, but they work. I have my own broom, too, though it's not as fast as Harry's Firebolt."

The twins surveyed their father with enthusiastic eyes. "You have your Firebolt, Dad?" James cried. "Can I ride it?"

Harry looked horrified at the idea. "No," he answered at once.

"But, Dad! You always let us ride your Firebolt!" Lily said pleadingly.

For some reason, Harry highly doubted that he would ever let two seven-year-olds ride his prized broomstick. Just the idea left appalling images in his mind of two whiny children and his beloved broom shattered on the ground and he cringed. "No," he said more adamantly.

James pouted, but his mood was short-lived when Ron appeared with two brooms for the twins to ride. "Slow as a snail," he muttered to Harry as he mounted his own broom which was only slightly faster.

"Right," Harry said, watching the twins hold their own brooms with eager eyes. "My broom is in my trunk. I'll be right out."

He ran off towards the Burrow and entered through the back door to the kitchen only to find the area vacant except for Sirius who was still sitting at the table sipping tea. "Sirius!" Harry cried, nearly having forgotten his godfather. "I'm sor-"

Sirius waved off the apology and took another sip of tea. "It's fine, Harry," he answered. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

"Going to my broom-"

The conversation was interrupted by an ear-splitting scream. Harry's head snapped towards the direction he had just come from. There was the thud of heavy footsteps getting closer to the kitchen and then pounding on the door. Death Eaters? Apparently Sirius was of the same mind as his godfather pulled out his wand and opened the backdoor, ready to duel the first person in sight.

"HELP!" James screamed, nearly collapsing on the floor when the door opened.

Harry and Sirius looked beyond the seven-year-old boy to Ron who was carrying Lily back towards the house. "I thought you said you could fly!" Ron cried. His face was white as a sheet and it was apparent why. Lily's left arm was sticking out at in a place that arms don't usually go. Once he reached the kitchen, he set the small girl in a chair while Sirius looked at her arm.

"It's broken for sure," he stated as Mrs. Weasley came rushing in. "You're going to need to take this one to St. Mungo's."

Mrs. Weasley's face rivaled Ron's. "We can't."

"What do you mean you can't?" Sirius returned. "Molly, her arm is broken-"

"Apparently!" Mrs. Weasley yelled in exasperation. "But she isn't supposed to exist!"

"What's going on?" Ginny interrupted, having heard the commotion and followed it to the kitchen with Hermione in tow. She bent down to look at the arm Lily was holding tightly to her chest while sobbing uncontrollably. "How did this happen?"

"She was riding on Charlie's old broom and—"

"_You let them ride brooms?"_ Hermione hissed to Ron and Harry in astonishment. "What do you think you were doing?"

"It was their idea!" Ron protested. "They said they knew how to ride a broomstick!"

Ginny's sharp eyes shifted towards the raven-haired boy who was still standing next to the backdoor. "And you let them?" she repeated with concern.

"What's the big deal? They're only seven!" Harry argued, throwing his hands in the air. "They said they could ride a broomstick. It's like riding a bike, isn't it?"

Another loud wail from Lily took the attention off of Harry and onto more important matters such as how to repair Lily's broken arm. While Sirius volunteered to accompany the family to St. Mungo's, Mrs. Weasley wouldn't hear of it. "This is already a tricky matter without pulling you into it!" she had told him.

Sirius backed away into the corner of the kitchen, appearing quite morose, but Harry had to agree with Mrs. Weasley. As much as he pitied his godfather and the lack of freedom he was given due to his perceived criminal status, the situation was already high-risk just having two children from the future on their hands.

"You stay here," Mrs. Weasley ordered the crowd in the kitchen. "Ginny, stay out of sight of the floo at all costs until I return. If this works, I can pass Lily off as my own daughter."

Ginny pursed her lips, but did not dare disobey her mother. They watched as Mrs. Weasley gingerly picked up her future granddaughter and disappear into the fireplace. Once they were gone, Ginny rounded on Ron and Harry. "This is your fault!" she hollered.

"Our fault?" Ron and Harry chorused. "It was an accident!" Ron added.

"That's enough," Sirius said before Ginny could respond. "What's done is done."

Hermione took Ginny's arm and pulled her towards the door to the kitchen. "Come on, Gin," she murmured in the redhead's ear. Ginny followed Hermione unwillingly, but not before casting a glare at the two boys before disappearing.

"Why is Mummy so upset?" James piped up causing Harry and Ron to jump. In all of the commotion, Harry had forgotten that his future son was still in the room.

"I don't know," Harry answered truthfully.

"Oh," James sighed and then after a moment, asked, "Can I go for a ride—?"

"No!" Ron and Harry shouted together.

James' eyes fell miserably before running from the kitchen and up the stairs. Harry felt a small urge to follow the boy, but held back as Sirius laid a hand on his shoulder. "It's noon. I should be going," Sirius said, sounding just as gloomily as James. He gave Harry a heart-felt hug and turned towards the kitchen door. "See you again soon, alright?"

Harry nodded and watched Sirius leave through the backdoor and disappear with a small "pop!" This day most certainly wasn't on his side as for the following few hours while Mrs. Weasley was away, the girls gave the cold shoulder to Ron and Harry, who couldn't understand why they were so upset. It wasn't as though either of the boys wished this to happen. How could they be blamed for being irresponsible? They weren't even of age! What was going on?

As the afternoon wore on, Harry's thoughts wondered more and more onto the female redhead barricaded in her room with Hermione. He became bitter that Ginny would hold him and Ron personally accountable for Lily's incident. In fact, she hadn't seemed quite happy from the beginning. Was she upset that she was going to end up marrying him and having his children? For years, Ginny had been incredibly infatuated with him. What had changed? Why now?

The more pressing question that Harry eagerly wanted to know was how he got involved with the youngest Weasley. He had to admit, he had never regarded her as someone he could eventually marry. She wasn't anything like his current crush, Cho Chang, who was sweet, pretty, and an excellent Quidditch player. No, Ginny was like a sister—she was _Ron's_ sister. How did it develop into more?

Compelled to find some answers to his questions, he went in search of James but to his disappointment, James was nowhere to be found. "Great," Harry muttered as he checked Percy's old room for the third time. "Just what I need: something else to be blamed for."

It was nearing dinnertime and Harry had felt that he had searched the entire Burrow five times over, but still had not found James. Mrs. Weasley finally returned with Lily in tow who was looking quite excited despite having been in tears the last time the group had seen her.

"It was so much fun, Mummy!" she exclaimed while skipping towards Ginny. "Healer Paige was so nice! And it didn't hurt at all!" The little girl held out her arm proudly for her mother to examine and Ginny smiled in relief.

"Where's James?" Lily asked, noticing that her brother was not among the crowd to greet her.

Ron and Harry shrugged. "Haven't seen him all afternoon," Harry admitted, though holding back that he had already gone hunting for the boy.

"He's probably up in Percy's old room, _sulking _that we didn't let him ride a broomstick," Ron assured them.

Hermione and Ginny, however, did not appear assured. With their current track record, Ron and Harry ought to be banned from any form of fatherhood until they were fifty-years-old. "I'll go find him," Hermione volunteered and left the kitchen.

Harry's stomach cringed slightly. For several minutes, he awaited the cry of alarm when Hermione would not find the boy inside the Burrow and then the whole blame game would start again and Harry was getting annoyed.

"JAMES!" someone shrieked from one of the upper floors.

Everyone in the kitchen made a bolt for the stairs and climbed three flights before stopping in front of Fred and George's room where Hermione had her hand over her mouth and was talking to what looked like a small spotted beach ball with tentacles. Mrs. Weasley was the first to rush to the beach ball's side.

"Merlin!" the Weasley matriarch cried. "You didn't—?"

But it was quite apparent to everyone that he _had. _A handful of multicolored wrappers rested on the floor a foot away from him that Harry knew did not come from any sweet shop. They were experimental products for Fred and George's future joke shop.

Mrs. Weasley was seething as she gently picked up the beach ball that was her grandson and marched down into the kitchen, followed by Hermione, Ginny, Harry, and then Ron. Harry waited for the cold remarks that were sure to come from the female Weasleys, but to his surprise, they were silent. Hermione and Ginny were so shocked by the transfiguration that James had undertaken that they had forgotten to blame the whole situation on Harry and Ron.

"When I get my hands on those two," Mrs. Weasley muttered when they reached the kitchen and she pulled out several of her spell books. However, especially spell she tried seemed to have no effect on James. By this time, Mr. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie had arrived home and were gathered around the kitchen table where the beach ball was rolling around.

"How did this happen?" Charlie asked, poking one of the tentacles with his wand.

Mrs. Weasley scowled. "Take one guess," she replied.

The kitchen door opened for the last time to admit two identical Weasleys. "Dinner ready?" Fred said with George in tow.

"No," Mrs. Weasley snapped. "I've been too busy resuscitating a beach ball that is supposed to be my grandson!"

Fred and George joined the crowd around the table. "Wow," George exclaimed. "Those tentacles turned out brilliant!"

"Brilliant?" Mrs. Weasley screamed, her eyes bulging out of their sockets.

Harry felt someone tug on his shirt and this time, it was from Ginny motioning him to follow her upstairs along with Ron and Hermione. They could hear the volcano erupt several floors below them, but when they reached Ron's room, Ron and Ginny burst with laughter.

"You're not worried about James?" Hermione asked uncertainly, mixed between amusement and concern.

Ginny waved an arm carelessly in Hermione's direction. "He'll be alright," she reassured her.

"Fred and George's stuff," Ron added, "well, it's dangerous, but never life-threatening. And with Fred and George as his uncles, they should have remembered to be more careful."

"But James never met Uncle Fred," a voice piped up from the doorway. Lily Potter had followed the four up the stairs and was now peeking from behind the door.

Ron, Harry, and Ginny looked simply confused while Hermione's expression was one of alarm. "What do you mean?" Ron said slowly. "You…you never…what?"

Lily took another step into the room. "We never met Uncle Fred," she said again.

"Why not?" Harry asked, although he was beginning to guess at the answer.

"Uncle Fred…h-he's dead."


	3. Chapter 3

Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump

_Chapter 3_

**A/N:** I wish I could make this story longer, but there is only so much you can write in 30 days. However, an epilogue will follow shortly.

* * *

"We need to find a way to send them back in time," Hermione said for the tenth time. It was the next morning and the four were sitting in the kitchen, pondering over their breakfast which did not seem appetizing to any of them. All they could think about was fact that one of the Weasleys would not be with them after the war.

"You told us that," Ron pointed out as he flung a piece of bacon across the table which landed on Harry's glasses.

"Thanks, mate," said Harry, taking them off and wiping them with his shirt.

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron before returning to the pile of books stacked next to her toast. "There has to be something in here," she muttered. "People just don't appear from the future."

"Why not?" Ron questioned. "It could happen. Where are those little things, anyways?"

"Those are _children_, Ron," Hermione returned in an aggravated tone, "and your mum took them out to the garden."

Ron threw another piece of bacon, this time hitting Ginny's nose who scowled. "Why don't we just ask them how they got here?"

Hermione threw her hands up in the hair. "Haven't we gone over this?" she cried. "They don't know! They're only seven for Merlin's sake!"

"But they might have an idea!"

"I highly doubt it!"

"What's so important about sending them back, anyways?" Ron asked. "It's not like anyone will notice."

"There's a space time continuum!" Hermione exclaimed. "When these kids return to their proper time, they will be at least two days older than they should be! If they stay here for a year, they'll return a year older! Don't you think it would be strange if suddenly your seven-year-old was ten or thirteen?"

Ron shrugged. "Maybe."

"You're hopeless," said Hermione in exasperation as she stood up and gathered her pile of books. "I will let you know when I have something."

Harry and Ron exchanged glances and watched Hermione disappear up the stairs. "Chess?" Ron suggested.

"Sure," Harry quickly agreed.

"Right, let me get it," Ron excused himself and disappeared up the stairs as well.

With Ron and Hermione gone, Harry's attention shifted to only other occupant in the room. Ginny was still mindlessly playing with her eggs and it was apparent that her mind was elsewhere. With puffy red eyes, Harry was sure that she had spent some amount of time that night crying over the news of her brother's fate and he could not imagine how much it must have torn her to hear that there would be a time when Fred's smile would cease to grace this world. It was something Harry himself had never considered; that someone in the Weasley family would die.

"Alright, Gin?" Harry said with concern.

Ginny's brown eyes left her plate and met his. "I'm fine," she lied.

Harry instinctively reached out and grabbed Ginny's hand. "It's going to be ok," he told her. "If…if Fred dies…" he stopped midsentence, unable to finish what he hoped would comfort her. He wanted to tell her that Fred would die for a great cause, but even that was uncertain. They still didn't know how he died. Instead, he let his sentence dissipate into the silence between them. For the first time since he met Ginny Weasley, he truly felt like a stranger to her, unable to help her or understand her pain.

Ginny pulled her hand away and hesitated before getting up. "Thanks, Harry," she murmured and left Harry alone with his thoughts.

The two did not see each other again until that night when James and Lily once again insisted that Ginny and Harry tuck them into bed. Ginny would do the routine kiss them on the forehead while Harry would try to duck out from reading a story only to have a book shoved in his arms by Hermione. Tonight, the book was _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_.

Harry opened the book and found a series of five stories. "These are children's stories?" he asked aloud after reading each title.

"Oh!" Lily squealed. "Read Babbitty Rabbitty, Daddy!"

"Yeah, I like that one," James agreed.

Harry consented and turned to the page where the story began. At the top, there was a picture of a stump that had a pair of eyes in one of its cracks and underneath, read "Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump." Who came up with these titles? Harry wondered.

"Alright," Harry started. "There once was a king who wanted all of the magic in the land…"

The tale was short, but no less confusing as the title. The story relayed of the king needing to capture all of the witches in his kingdom and to learn magic. His own magical instructor turned out to be a fraud, not knowing magic himself, but who ran across a witch, Babbitty, who managed evade being captured. The instructor blackmailed Babbitty to help him perform magic or else he would reveal her to the king and his witch hunting brigade. She agreed, but when the king asked the instructor to raise the dead, even Babbitty could not assist him. The instructor exposed Babbitty who fled into the forest and disappeared at the base of a tree.

The instructor insists that Babbitty has turned into the crab apple tree and that the tree should be cut down. The stump cackles and forces the instructor to confess that he was no more than a charlatan. The stump cackled again and demanded that a witch or wizard never be harmed again and to build a statue on the stump of Babbitty to remind him of his foolishness.

"…and just as the king left the stump, a stout old rabbit with a wand in its teeth hopped out from the hole beneath the stump and left the kingdom," Harry finished and closed the book. He glanced at the twins and was pleased to see Lily fast asleep, but James looked wide-eyed and frightened. "What's the matter?"

"I…I have something," the boy stuttered. "I didn't want to tell you; I didn't want to get into trouble!"

"What is it?" Harry asked gently.

James reached down into his pocket and pulled out something that looked like a cigarette lighter. He handed it to his father and waited for the blow. However, Harry just stared at the object in confusion.

"What is this?" said Harry, turning the object over in his hands.

"It's Uncle Ron's," James confessed. "We weren't supposed to touch it. You told us not to. It's supposed to turn out the lights, but I didn't know it would do this!"

"Thanks, James," Harry breathed in relief. "And you're not in trouble. Go to sleep." He put the book on the ground, turned out the light, and left the room with the silver object in his hand. So this was the answer. No time-turner, no wormhole, no freak accidents. It was just two curious children and some object that Uncle Ron had probably left carelessly around the Burrow.

"What is it?" Mr. Weasley asked later that evening. All of the Weasleys were gathered in the kitchen, staring at the cigarette lighter.

"He said it's supposed to turn out the lights," Harry repeated, though not adding that it supposedly belonged to Ron.

"How does it work?" Bill asked.

"No idea," said Harry truthfully.

Mr. Weasley shook his head. "I've seen this before. How it got into the hands of two seven-year-olds is baffling, but I'll pay its owner a visit in the morning," he told them and carefully slipped the object into his pocket.

So the mystery was solved, Harry thought as he followed Ron up the stairs. A book worth of questions solved with a single silver cigarette lighter. Yet, a thousand books worth of questions still remained and one these books concerned himself and a young lady who he would one day marry and have two little rambunctious children with. As Harry lay on his bed that night, all he could think about was Ginny.

He was willing to admit that Ginny was no Cho Chang, but there was still something about her. There was still something that told him that this was the way it was supposed to be, that he had always known that he would one day fall in love with her. He was just too young and too stupid to understand what it all meant yet.

A soft knock on the door interrupted Harry's thought and the door creaked open, the moonlight catching a flash of red hair. "Harry?"

"Yeah?" Harry whispered.

Ginny tiptoed across the room, still in her night gown, to Harry's bed. She found his hand and tugged on it. "Come with me," she said and Harry obeyed.

He followed her down the flights of stairs, through the dark, empty kitchen and out to the backyard. One they were a good distance away from the Burrow, Ginny stopped and turned to the young boy she had dragged out of bed in the middle of the night. "I'm sorry," she began.

But Harry held up a hand to stop her. "It's not your fault," he insisted.

"I've been so rude!" she exclaimed. "And you're probably wondering how you ended up with me."

On the contrary, Harry thought, but chose not to reveal that. Maybe at another time, in another place when the two were older and he knew her better. Maybe that would be the right time, but not here, not now.

"These last two days, it feels like a mess," Ginny continued. "I…I just wanted you to know that."

"I understand," he told her. "Really, I do."

Ginny cocked her head to examine him better and smiled. "Thanks, Harry." And with that, she turned back towards the Burrow leaving Harry alone in the moonlight. He did not follow her, but remained outside until the wee hours of the morning. When he did return to the Burrow, it was with a new outlook of the future.

"It has to be done," Dumbledore told the Weasley family later that morning. The visitor Mr. Weasley had sought turned out to be no one other than the Headmaster of Hogwarts. It surprised the household when the two showed up in the kitchen after breakfast and even now when he explained what had to be done.

"Our-out memories have to be obliviated?" Mrs. Weasley asked in astonishment. "I won't remember my grandchildren?"

Dumbledore nodded. "It is the only way we can assure the future remains intact. Otherwise, we run the risk of destroying everything that has been built up to the point of James and Lily disappearing from their grandparent's living room."

Mrs. Weasley's face was white, but she did not protest. No one did. It made sense and if Dumbledore said it had to be done, it had to be done. "Could we say good-bye first?" she pleaded.

"Certainly," Dumbledore responded and disappeared temporarily into the kitchen.

Without wasting a moment, Mrs. Weasley embraced the twins and crushed them in her arms. "You two behave, you hear me?" she ordered. "No more visits to St. Mungo's!"

"And stay out of our candy!" Fred added.

The twins beamed as they were taken into their granddad's more gentle arms. And from there, they were passed from Weasley to Weasley until they ended at Harry and Ginny who could smile proudly at the twins.

"Your heard your grandma," Harry told them. "Behave…and thanks."

Together, Harry and Ginny bid the twins farewell and with a slightly saddened though content heart, Harry realized that the next time he would ever see their faces would be in a hospital where he would be holding them in his arms and welcoming them into the world. There was no indication when that would be, but he knew that time would come. And with that, he let them go.

Having said their goodbyes, Dumbledore returned and this time, he was holding the silver cigarette lighter. He whispered a few words in the twins' ears, clicked the lighter twice, and handed it to the twins. In a split second, James and Lily disappeared and Harry found himself staring at the empty space where they had been standing only a moment before.

After they were gone, Dumbledore went down the line and erased the memory from everyone's minds and temporary put them to sleep until he reached Harry. "I know what you are thinking, Harry," he began. "But do not rely on the future to hold the answers. There is still a war to be fought yet."

Harry's heart dropped another centimeter. He knew Dumbledore was right. He couldn't allow the knowledge of being alive in ten years get in the way of their goal from defeating Voldemort.

"For now, Harry, put this from your mind and I will see you in a week," Dumbledore told him and with a wave of his wand, everything Harry thought, felt, and knew vanished from his mind. He fell into a light sleep in which he was not thinking of Ginny or the future, but that of what was to come and when he woke up, it was not to hope or relief, but to tension and worry.

He sat up on the living floor and looked around. Ron and Hermione were just getting up off of the group while Ginny was still lying on the floor, a playful smile on her face. "Care for a game of Quidditch, Harry?" Ron suggested.

"Sure," Harry agreed and he got up off from the ground and followed Ron to the broom shed while Hermione grumbled behind them.

Hours later when Harry, Ron, and Hermione were heading for Ron's room, they stopped to find Mrs. Weasley puzzling over Percy's room. "I don't understand," she told them. "I was sure I left this door locked and here it is, open and with not one but _two_ beds inside. How did those get there?"

The three looked inside the door and realized Mrs. Weasley was right. The two beds were unmade as if the two people had just gotten up and left for breakfast and next to one of them, there was a book. Harry walked over to pick it up. It was a children's book and it was opened to the last page of the story"Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump."

Harry read the last line, "And just as the king left the stump, a stout old rabbit with a wand in its teeth hopped out from the hole beneath the stump and left the kingdom."

"That's Ginny's book," Mrs. Weasley commented. "I wonder how it got in here."

No one could explain this strange explanation, but Harry felt slightly anxious as if someone was trying to say something to him…and he put it from his mind as he dropped the book on the bed and left Percy's room.

Another place. Another time.

Another wizard who pulled a cigarette light from his pocket and showed it to his father, claiming it took him into the past.


End file.
